DREAM TEAM

Chris Yemma

On a team that made it to the first round of the CIF Southern Section

Division IV playoffs, a team composed of youngsters looking to prove

themselves, Michelle Tolfa was the ace that completed the full house.

And one year after the Corona del Mar High softball team made

history by winning its first postseason game, the Sea Kings followed

up this season by proving it wasn’t a fluke.

All led by the clutch arm and bat of Tolfa, a sophomore who

highlights a group of 10 softball standouts on the 2005 Daily Pilot

Newport-Mesa Dream Team as Player of the Year.

CdM teammates Holly Van Hiel, a sophomore, and junior Michele

Allred join Tolfa, along with Newport Harbor’s Ashley Gleason, Jane

Messersmith and Julianne Bass; Costa Mesa’s Britney McAleer and

Christy Gregory; Sage Hill’s Rebecca Hembarsky; and Estancia’s Hilary

Ockey.

But it was Tolfa who showcased her potential throughout the

season, keeping the Sea Kings in nearly every game with her dominance

in the circle. And it was Tolfa who produced clutch hits to spark

CdM’s offense, sometimes single-handedly willing the team to victory.

“Like I’ve said numerous times, she’s the backbone of our team,”

Sea Kings Coach Nichole Thompson said. “I’m confident when she’s out

there pitching that we’re going to win. And I’m confident she will

get a hit almost every time she’s up.”

The sophomore was CdM’s pitching ace, posting a 1.08 ERA with 201

strikeouts to finish the season 15-10.

She led the team with a .467 batting average, accounting for 20

RBIs and six home runs. She tied for the most home runs in the

Pacific Coast League, while her batting average was second.

Tolfa helped lead the Sea Kings to a third-place finish in league

to qualify for the postseason. She led CdM in a 1-0 victory over visiting Jserra in a wild-card game May 18, throwing a complete-game

two-hitter with 12 strikeouts while also scoring the game’s only run.

It marked a second straight season Corona del Mar collected a win

in the postseason.

It was CdM’s defensive-minded approach, with Tolfa in the circle

and both Allred and Van Hiel in the outfield, that turned close games

into victories.

“We tried to limit other teams’ scoring and then we’d try to push

one across,” Thompson said. “We tried to get the most out of [Tolfa]

so we wouldn’t have to make other plays.”

The top half of the Sea Kings’ order produced the majority of

their runs. With Allred leading off and Van Hiel and Tolfa batting

third and fourth, respectively, CdM packed an early punch.

Van Hiel hit .297 with 13 RBIs and two home runs.

“She has contributed offensively and defensively,” Thompson said

of Van Hiel. “Lately it was with the bat. She has won a couple of our

games. When [Tolfa and Van Hiel] are both on, they’re a great 1-2

punch in the 3-4 spots of the batting order.”

Allred hit .270 with 22 hits and 11 runs scored. She went 2 for 4

and scored a run in the Sea Kings’ first-round playoff loss at St.

Paul.

Across the Back Bay, Newport Harbor, led by Dartmouth-bound senior

Gleason, battled it out in the Sea View League, arguably one of the

toughest in CIF Division I.

Gleason, pitched very effectively during the nonleague schedule.

She finished the season with a 1.12 ERA with 152 strikeouts while

posting a team-best .354 batting average.

And when Gleason’s pitching was on, there wasn’t much that could

cool her off. Against Costa Mesa March 10, she fanned a lifetime-best

17, while allowing just three hits.

“She’s a leader as a captain,” Newport Harbor Coach Mike Davis

said. “She’s always working on getting the girls going. She’s good at

keeping the team together as a unit and keeping the team chemistry

really good.”

Messersmith, a freshman who assumed more and more of the pitching

duties as the season progressed, led the team with an 0.54 ERA

through 52 innings. She posted a 6-2 record with 51 strikeouts.

Bass, a senior catcher, hit .282 and led the team with 11 RBIs.

She hit one home run.

Costa Mesa teammates McAleer, a senior, and sophomore Gregory,

both first-team All-Golden West League selections, paced the Mustangs

throughout the year.

McAleer’s big bat accounted for a league-leading six home runs and

eight of her 12 walks were intentional passes, Coach Sharon Uhl said.

“She would either hit a home run, hit the ball far or be walked,”

said Uhl, whose team finished fifth in league. “She was a devoted

team captain. Her leadership and experience helped the team out a

lot.”

Gregory hit .383 with two doubles, but her main contribution came

defensively at second base. She committed just one error this season

en route to first-team all-league recognition.

Sage Hill’s Hembarsky, a junior pitcher who was equally strong

with the bat, helped lead the Lightning to a third-place Academy

League finish and a CIF Division VI playoff berth. She was 3 for 4

with two RBIs in a 13-3 league victory that clinched Sage’s second

postseason berth in three years.

Estancia’s Ockey, another first-team All-Golden West League

selection, led the Eagles with a .554 batting average. She had 18

RBIs.

She also handled some pitching duties, striking out 23 in 51

innings.

“She’s one of those people who leads by example,” Eagles’ Coach

Alan Caouette said. “She has a positive attitude. She taught the

younger players how to play.”